Baseball Magazine’s Shorinji Kempo Goho Book– companion notes in English

Preface

Gassho.

In 2000 and 2001, the Japanese publisher Baseball Magazine produced three volumes of explanationsof Shorinji Kempo hokei [training patterns] using high-speed photograph sequences. The photographsthemselves are so helpful that many non-readers of Japanese have bought the books, despite being unableto understand the explanatory notes given for each technique.

It became clear that providing even a partial translation of those notes into English might be a usefulthing to do. This document therefore covers the notes in the first volume, which is dedicated to goho andillustrates twenty-three hokei in six technique families, selected from the syllabus up to 3rd dan. The bookalso contains a chapter on Shorinji Kempo’s history, which I have not attempted to translate.

I have also made no attempt to restructure the explanations to suit a more natural flow of English,opting instead to provide an almost word-for-word translation that replicates the note-like chunking of theJapanese text. One hope is that this close correspondence of the texts will encourage some bilingual readersto check the translation and let me know about important errors and omissions. I have already receivedmuch help of this kind from Tameo Mizuno sensei and other Japanese kenshi in London, but please notethat even if the original books carry the authority of hombu and its instructors, the translationsoffered here are approximate, and are necessarily limited by the translator’s own experience of theJapanese language and of Shorinji Kempo.

In line with the international teaching of Shorinji Kempo, the names of all basic technique elements – aswell as of the hokei themselves – are not translated. Any reader unsure of the meaning of some expressionshould in the first instance ask his or her sempai or branch master.

Finally, for the most part in these notes I have avoided expressions such as ‘his or her’ (or ‘their’, forthat matter), usually opting for the male pronoun. This is of course not intended to imply maleness of allkenshi, but does happen to fit the fact that these books show only men demonstrating the techniques.

Enjoy your training!

Kesshu.

Aran Lunzer (shodan, jun kenshi)aran@bigfoot.com

London, August 2002

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Contents

Numbers in these titles are the page numbers in the original book.

Nio ken 3

8: ryusui geri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

16: uchi uke zuki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Byakuren ken 4

24: tsubame gaeshi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

32: chidori gaeshi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

40: suigetsu gaeshi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

48: hangetsu gaeshi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Tenno ken 9

56: tsuki ten ichi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

64: gyaku ten ichi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

72: tsuki ten ni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

80: tsuki ten san . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

88: keri ten san . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Kakuritsu ken 13

96: kinteki geri hiza uke nami gaeshi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

104: mawashi geri san bo uke nami gaeshi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Sango ken 15

112: juji uke geri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

120: shita uke jun geri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

128: gyaku tenshin geri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

136: han tenshin geri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

144: yoko tenshin geri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

152: harai uke geri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Chio ken 21

160: jun geri chi ichi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

168: gyaku geri chi ichi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

176: gyaku geri chi san . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

188: harai uke chi ni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

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Nio kenThis group of hokei is based on jodan attack/defence combinations, and constitutes an essential training syl-labus for helping beginners master the basic techniques. When higher-level kenshi perform the techniques,rather than single counter-attacks they should practice three- or four-strike sequences.

8: ryusui geri

the difference between goho and juho

In juho practice, no-one would try to perform kata muna otoshi in response to a wrist being grabbed, orgyaku gote as a response to a grab to the upper arm. It’s not even the case that every kind of grab tothe lapels can be handled using kata muna otoshi: having grabbed, the attacker might push, pull or twist,and for each different kind of attack there is a different kind of counter-attack. When you think about it,typically in juho you don’t have a range of different ways to deal with a single type of attack.

But what about goho?Taking nioken as an example, there can be many different techniques for dealing with the same attack.

You can defend and counter-attack a jodan choku zuki using any one of ryusui geri, uchi age zuki, uchi agegeri, uchi uke zuki. . . So what criteria are there to limit the responses one can use in goho?

Jumping ahead to the answer: the point is that the techniques you can use when confronting an attackerare constrained by your distance, relative arrangement [tai/hiraki], foot placement, stance and so on.

thinking about stance from the defender’s point of view

Looking at photo sequence A, we can see that completing the kick in response to the incoming attack takesabout five frames. So the time it takes to carry out ryusui geri is comparable to the time it takes to blink.

With such a small amount of time available, whatever body movement you do cannot be complex.The kyohan’s listing of basic techniques includes sixteen categories of naming and explanation that

relate to stance: eight are based on the position of the feet, and eight on the way of standing [e.g., weightdistribution].

Ryusui geri’s four variants (hidari or migi, omote or ura) fall under the following of these categories:for foot position, they are all gyaku choji dachi [e.g., as used in chudan gamae]; for way of standing, eitherzen kutsu dachi or ko kutsu dachi. Our photo sequence here shows the hidari mae, omote variant.

According to the kyohan, zen kutsu dachi is principally a defensive stance from which one movesbackwards, while ko kutsu dachi is principally a stance for moving forwards to make an attack.

In picture A1, the defender has consciously taken up a somewhat zen kutsu stance. He then moves hisweight to his back leg, performs ryusui uke, and kicks with his front leg. Essentially, the stance was chosenso that moving his body in the intended direction would be easy.

Trying to perform ryusui uke forwards from zen kutsu dachi would put you in an inconvenient stoopingposition; trying to do ryusui geri backwards from ko kutsu dachi would involve leaning too far back. Inneither case could you make an effective counter-attack.

But we often see kenshi who only think of ko kutsu dachi and zen kutsu dachi in attack terms, as beingthe stances for jun geri and gyaku geri respectively.

Therefore, not just for ryusui geri but for goho training in general, one must be conscious of stance andkamae from the defender’s perspective too – understanding in which direction one can smoothly shift one’sweight, and practising the combined defence and counter-attack in response to an attack.

To communicate this point to beginners, getting them to practice a simple technique is effective inhelping them focus their attention. That’s precisely why ryusui geri is the first goho technique to beintroduced.

caption p8 Picture 1 shows hidari chudan gamae; picture 2 shows hidari ichiji gamae. these are the twomost commonly used basic stances for the hokei [patterns] in the goho branch of Shorinji Kempo. The feetare in gyaku choji dachi.

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caption p9 Ryusui geri does not depend on ashi sabaki [foot movement], but on changing one’s stancefrom zen kutsu dachi to ko kutsu dachi, or vice versa. In this way one can move the body clear of theincoming attack, then add a counter-attack. In performing ryusui uke one must not only dodge the punch,but also prepare both hands to cope with any sequence of further attacks – possibly to jodan or to chudan.

caption p10 Ryusui geri is a hokei that involves the body movement called ryusui [lit: flowing water] inorder to dodge an attack, and a keri counter-attack.

Trying to perform the counter-attack at the same time as the dodge will spoil one’s posture and makethe kick impossible.

From the stance used to invite the attack, you must move your weight to what will become the standingleg for your kick, and make the counter-attack from a position of stability.

16: uchi uke zukia technique is not just a single pattern, but has a range depending on circumstances

Hokei practice is an extremely important kind of training for mastering the basics of Shorinji Kempo.For uchi uke zuki, the most commonly practiced form is probably the case shown in our photo sequence

– in which the partners take up a tai gamae stance, and in response to a gyaku zuki the defender performsthe ura form of the technique.

All techniques have at least two forms, dealing with left and right sides. And it’s not unusual for eachof these to have omote and ura forms, making four in all.

This isn’t variation at the level of different people having their own individual styles; the point is thatany given hokei has at least two distinct patterns, rather than just one.

The practice of hokei, put simply, enables one to form habits for responding to some attack with adefence/counter-attack combination. To form the right habits one must be conscious of the elements thatare to be learned, and repeatedly practise them. People who practise at the bare-minimum issoku ikkenspacing may find that performing uchi uke zuki with greater spacing is easier; they certainly won’t find thatit becomes more difficult.

However, people who only ever practise using far space are likely to find that, if attacked instead fromclose space, the attack will seem faster and the defence habits they have formed will be insufficient to cope.

Through practice, attacker and defender must find their bare-minimum neutral training distance, andtrain to shorten the distance from which they can deal with attacks.

caption p16 Uchi uke is performed with fingers and thumb outstretched, and uses wanto. By blockingnear the attacker’s fist it becomes easier to use the block to destabilise his posture.

captions p17 The omote form of uchi uke zuki: in goho, an ura form is when the defender blocks thenmoves towards the attacker’s rear; moving towards the attacker’s chest is omote.

In omote uchi uke zuki the defender ends up directly in front of the attacker’s fist – so go no sen timing(block, then counter) would be too slow. One must use tai no sen, in which the block and counter-attackare carried out almost simultaneously with the attack.

caption p18 Uchi uke zuki is a hokei in which a choku zuki attack is handled using uchi uke followed bya chudan counter-attack.

To neutralise the attack, rather than depend only on uchi uke the defender can move his front footdiagonally forwards, taking his body away off the line of attack and increasing the block’s effectiveness.

Byakuren kenThis group is made up of goho hokei involving basic dan ko bo, i.e., two-stage techniques in which ablocking hand is immediately used for a counter-attack. The principle in byakuren ken is that a single hand

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performs the block and counter-attack so rapidly that it is almost a single motion. In performing thesehokei, importance must be placed on both speed and control.

24: tsubame gaeshi

tsubame gaeshi is the basic form of dan han ko

In the kyohan, Kaiso describes tsubame gaeshi as follows: ‘byakuren ken dai ichi is a beautiful forminvolving a quick hand movement, originally named after the flight of the swallow, that combines a one-handed block and counter-attack as almost a single gesture, followed by a three-hit ren han ko with anartful tai sabaki. . . . Tsubame gaeshi is the basic form of dan han ko [multi-stage counter-attack], usedwhen an attacker steps in with sashi komi ashi from hiraki gamae and performs jodan gyaku zuki.’

From this we can gather that the most important aspect of practising tsubame gaeshi is perfecting theconnection of the uchi uke to the shuto giri, as a dan han ko.

points to watch in tsubame gaeshi

The number one point is understanding and practising the single-handed combination of block and imme-diate counter-attack.

It is also important not to dodge aside too far at the time of the block. If your body movement is toobig, you won’t be able to perform either an effective shuto giri or a smooth ren han ko. One of the causesof this problem is moving the feet incorrectly, stepping far out to the side.

The foot movement in tsubame gaeshi is mae chidori ashi. Consciously step the front foot forwards ata slight diagonal, so that your feet lead the movement of your centre of gravity and stabilise your body’scentre line, enabling you to launch the counter-attack.

Understand that the purpose of the defender’s mae chidori ashi is not to close distance for the sake ofthe counter-attack, but to dodge the incoming punch.

The attacker launches an attack aimed at where the defender is standing. What the defender has todo is perform mae chidori ashi and uchi uke as defence, then from a stable posture launch an immediatecounter-attack on the opponent who is now within hitting distance. Executing shuto giri paves the way foran effective ren han ko.

captions p25 Taiki gamae is a stance that invites a jodan attack. The stance incorporates neko ashi dachi,which lets you make a rapid kin teki geri at any time. Whenever you take up a stance, you must be clearlyconscious of which areas it establishes as jitsu and which as kyo. In taiki gamae, to invite a jodan attackyou make that part kyo, while making chudan and below jitsu to prevent attacks from coming there.

The key movement in tsubame gaeshi is from the uchi uke (picture 1) to the shuto giri (picture 2). Becertain to perform the shuto giri properly, and not just put your focus on the chudan zuki (picture 3).

caption p26 In response to the incoming attack, the defender steps his front foot slightly diagonallyforwards to move his upper body out of the way, blocks with uchi uke, then performs shuto giri with thesame wan to. The attacker’s step in to perform the attack also sets up the distance for the defender tocounter-attack – so there’s no need for the defender to make a big step forwards.

32: chidori gaeshi

what is the ‘correct’ form of a hokei?

Let’s confirm [from the kyohan] the attacker’s and defender’s movements in chidori gaeshi:‘Attacker: from hidari ichiji gamae, sashi komi ashi with the left foot, then right-hand jodan gyaku

zuki.‘Defender: from hidari taiki gamae, (1) mae chidori ashi leading with the left foot, then a dan ko

bo in which a left-hand uchi uke turns into an immediate ura te (ura ken) uchi; (2) continuing, perform

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chudan gyaku zuki with the right hand, and slightly close [yose ashi] the right foot. (ren han ko descriptionomitted).’

But isn’t it common to see kenshi start in tai gamae and practice chidori gaeshi against a sashikae ashi,jun zuki attack?

This isn’t a case of one being right, the other wrong. The truth is that chidori gaeshi can be an effectivecounter to either gyaku zuki or jun zuki.

Given an attacker who intends a jodan punch, it’s perfectly possible that from an especially close-quarters hiraki gamae he might try gyaku zuki, or that from a rather far-apart tai gamae he might closedistance with sashikae ashi and launch jun zuki.

It seems that there are some people who, encountering a form that’s different from the one they havealways practiced, denounce it as a mistake.

But every goho hokei has at least a pair of left and right forms, and many have four for left/right,omote/ura – plus maybe a ren han ko. The ren han ko itself can vary endlessly depending on the circum-stances of attacker and defender, so couldn’t you say that a hokei doesn’t really have a form at all?

One of the easy traps to fall into is focussing too much on a single attack/defence combination, therebytending to narrow one’s understanding and one’s acquisition of techniques. The standard for judgingwhether a hokei is being performed correctly should be whether or not the defender, in response to theattack, performs a sound defence and counter-attack informed by the special characteristics of some familyof techniques.

dan ko bo cuts time off the counter-attack

In the kyohan, Kaiso says ‘In byakuren ken embu, importance must be placed on speed and control.’But if you fixate on the words ‘speed and control’ and take up stance intent on moving quickly, the

tension in your body will tend to spoil your response.Putting together the mae chidori ashi, uchi uke, meuchi smoothly but positively, always working at your

own pace, is what will lead you to the desired result of a fast counter-attack.

tsubame gaeshi and chidori gaeshi are omote and ura

Both tsubame gaeshi and chidori gaeshi are techniques that invite a jodan attack and respond with dan kobo.

In hiraki gamae, tsubame gaeshi is effective against gyaku zuki and chidori gaeshi against jun zuki. Fortai gamae the opposite is true.

First get this relationship clear in your mind, then start with the defender fixed in either migi mae orhidari mae as you vary the relative arrangement [tai/hiraki], and after practicing jun zuki train with gyakuzuki, and so on, to broaden the range of attacks you can deal with.

caption p32 Chidori gaeshi and tsubame gaeshi have an omote/ura relationship. The effectiveness of themeuchi is increased by not putting in all your strength but keeping the arm soft.

caption p34 The counter-attack in chidori gaeshi is meuchi. Meuchi is an ura te [back of the hand] strike,for which the fingers must be relaxed.

Having parried the incoming punch, the defender softens his arm from the elbow down to make awhip-like counter-attack aimed at the attacker’s eyes.

40: suigetsu gaeshia hokei that truly embodies all five elements of atemi

When you hear byakuren ken, the feature that comes to mind is probably dan ko bo – using the same handto block then immediately counter-attack.

But in suigetsu gaeshi it’s not that you use one hand both to block and counter, but that the counter-attack involves a dan zuki combination of yoko furi zuki and sho ken uchi.

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Let’s review the attacker’s and defender’s movements in suigetsu gaeshi: ‘Attacker: from migi chudangamae, sashi komi ashi and jodan choku zuki. Defender: from hidari taiki gamae, (1) mae chidori ashi,hidari uchi uke, and at the same time yoko furi zuki to suigetsu with migi hira ken, immediately drawingthe hand away again backwards. Then bring migi shoken back to finish the counter-attack with a swingdown onto keikotsu [the bones of the neck]. (2) with both hands push attacker over; sagari; zanshin.’

In any goho hokei, you have to fulfil the five elements of atemi – namely, (1) the position of the targetkyusho, (2) striking distance, (3) angle, (4) speed and (5) kyo/jitsu.

The first counter-strike in suigetsu gaeshi is a yoko furi zuki to the attacker’s suigetsu.As is clear in each of the photo sequences, the attacker’s position after making jun zuki opens up a kyo

in his posture – with his weight on the front leg, the front arm outstretched, and chudan exposed.Suigetsu must be struck with an upwards blow from directly in front. Because in this case the attacker’s

body is half turned away, a choku zuki would arrive at the wrong angle and would be ineffective. By usingyoko furi zuki it is possible to deliver a strike at the correct angle for this kyo opportunity.

In addition, yoko furi zuki is an especially effective strike in cases like this in which it is used againstthe trunk from close distance. This is because, by adjustments such as changing the angle of the elbow,you can compensate for being somewhat close or far away as a result of the mae chidori ashi dodge.

After the yoko furi zuki, immediately pull the hand away backwards then put in sho ken uchi to keikotsu.In this case, too, the five elements of atemi are satisfied insofar as the attack to suigetsu has made theattacker stoop forwards. Together, this makes an effective dan zuki.

Of course it is not just in suigetsu gaeshi that it is important to hit the kyusho in the correct way – whichmeans drawing the attacker into a position of kyo, then, taking into account the separation between attackerand defender, immediately applying a decisive strike by hitting the chosen kyusho at an angle that will beeffective.

the kind of atemi practice that hokei let you do

If you examine the tsuki counter attacks used in nio ken, the overwhelming majority are choku zuki. Bycontrast, in byakuren ken you find a whole range of counter-attack techniques: shuto giri in tsubame gaeshi,meuchi in chidori gaeshi, kumade uchi in hangetsu gaeshi and furi zuki in suigetsu gaeshi.

Furthermore, these atemi are aimed at kyusho on the neck or face; all maximally effective strikes, thatwill work even from close distance.

It could be said that the byakuren ken patterns are for coping in close quarters. As part of this theyrequire rapid counter-attack techniques, which put dan ko bo and dan zuki to especially good use.

For practicing atemi such as this, that are used for han geki [counter-attacks] rather than initial attacks,sotai practice is vital. When you practice hokei with a partner, you have to get the hang of correct position-ing (which affects physical kyo and jitsu), the location of the target kyusho, distance, angle, and timing –all needed to make the counter-attack atemi effective.

So while there are some elements of training that cannot be achieved by hokei, they do have this otheraspect of enabling the practice of effective atemi.

caption p40 The main point of suigetsu gaeshi is the dan zuki, which involves striking suigetsu (photo 1),drawing back the hand (photo 2), then hitting the attacker’s seikotsu with sho ken uchi (photo 3).

caption p42 Suigetsu gaeshi involves meeting the incoming attack with uchi uke, simultaneously usingone’s position alongside the attacker to put in a decisive furi zuki to suigetsu. Then, drawing back the fistfrom suigetsu as if extracting the elbow upwards, strike the back of the neck with the same hand. Afterthese atemi, finish by pushing the attacker over.

48: hangetsu gaeshidefence that relies just on the hands isn’t enough

In hangetsu gaeshi a defender standing in midare gamae responds to an incoming ren zuki using hangetsuuke and a shita uke oshi dome, then counter-attacks with kumade zuki.

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Looking carefully at the times where hangetsu gaeshi goes wrong, it seems that the problem lies in thepart involving the body dodge.

To be specific, the problem arises when a defender tries to perform oshi dome against gyaku zuki whilehis or her chudan region is still in the attacker’s path. The result is a posture with the backside sticking out,from which neither the defence nor counter-attack can be performed well.

change from ko kutsu dachi to zen kutsu dachi

So what kind of dodge should be performed in hangetsu gaeshi? Let’s have a look at photo sequence B.Frame 1 shows the defender inviting the attack in midare gamae with a slightly ko kutsu dachi stance.

One thing to notice at this point is that his body is somewhat straight-on.In frames 2 to 6, the attacker launches a full-power ren ko against the position where the defender

was inviting. During this time the defender responds to the ren ko by making a side-step to the right, andchanging from ko kutsu dachi to zen kutsu dachi. During this time his body can be seen to be more side-onthan when he was inviting the attack.

Changing body position in this kind of way allows the defender to dodge the incoming attack as if hejust slips past it.

Looking in even finer detail, you can see that in frame 3 the hangetsu uke is in contact with the jun zuki,but as a result of the yoko ashi the defender has already dodged clear of the attack.

In frames 4 to 6 the gyaku zuki is stopped with oshi dome, but it can be seen that this block doesn’thappen from in front of the attacker but by stepping around to the attacker’s back and stopping the punchfrom the side.

And looking at photo sequence C, in frame 1 the attacker’s and defender’s bodies are in line, but inframe 9, the point where the defender has finished his defence, his body is completely clear of the line ofattack.

That said, it’s not just a matter of getting out of the way of the attacks; the hangetsu uke and oshi domecombination acts both as a solid defence and a way to disrupt the attacker’s posture, in preparation for thecounter-attack.

draw in the attack and deal with it

There is a tendency for the defence and counter-attack in response to a ren ko to feel somewhat rushed.However, as long as you aren’t fixated on the hand movements but focus your attention on the footwork

and tai sabaki that form the core of the defence, hangetsu gaeshi isn’t so different from shita uke geri, alsoa tai gamae technique.

The point is that if an attacker takes aim and launches his attack, a single step is enough to move thedefender away from the aimed-at location.

Therefore whether it’s a single attack or some combination, the lower-body movements needed to getout of the way are the same.

To put together a defence/counter combination you have to take up stance without being tense, calmyour mind, clearly picture the defence and counter-attack, then invite the attack in and deal with it.

caption p48 Midare gamae: the front hand guards against jun geri, while the back hand protects thetorso. Like taiki gamae, this stance is used when inviting a jodan attack.

caption p49 The attacker’s ren ko isn’t avoided by hand movement alone. By changing from ko kutsudachi to zen kutsu dachi and moving the centre of the body, you get the body clear of the line of attack.Not just in hangetsu gaeshi but in goho in general, defence requires a harmonised combination of body andhand movements.

caption p50 Dealing with the attacker’s ren ko using hand movement alone is virtually impossible.In response to the jodan, chudan attack sequence it is vital to accompany the hangetsu uke, shita uke

defence sequence with a shift of the body’s centre-line and a kai shin [change of body angle]. The blocks

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should be done not with the intention of intercepting the attacks, but of protecting the face, then protectingchudan.

Tenno ken

A group of hokei involving ren ko bo. The attacks either involve a sequence of punches, or punchingfollowed by kicking, and all start with a jodan attack. A special feature is punch combinations in which, ina single effort, the attacker launches right- and left-hand attacks so rapidly that they appear to arrive almostsimultaneously – and with the power emphasis on the second strike rather than the first.

56: tsuki ten ichi

the movement of the lower body isn’t complex

Tsuki ten ichi is a defence and counter-attack technique against jodan jun zuki, chudan gyaku zuki.Compared with hokei such as those in nio ken, tsuki ten ichi could be said to involve movements of

high complexity. But that’s only true for the upper body.Studying the defender’s lower-body movement in photo sequences A and B, we can see that it involves

an ushiro chidori ashi form of ten shin, followed immediately by keri kaeshi. This is just as simple as themovement in a technique such as ten shin geri.

We can also observe that the ushiro chidori ashi lets the defender move out of reach of the jun zuki, andevade the gyaku zuki. That increases the effectiveness of the uwa uke, shita uke combination, allowing thejo chu ni ren ko attack to be handled without difficulty.

If part of the attack hits home, the problem is less likely to be slowness in the ren uke than an insufficientushiro chidori ashi.

Ushiro chidori ashi is a retreat in a diagonally backwards direction; one form of hiki ashi. But we quiteoften see people doing tsuki ten ichi without attention to the backwards-diagonal aspect – simply movingone step backwards.

In most of these cases the defender doesn’t evade the attacker’s gyaku zuki at all, but stops it with thekeri kaeshi.

The problem with doing tsuki ten ichi like this is that if the attacker turns out to be someone with longreach, or if the attack is especially deep, moving back far enough to deal with the attack will mean thateven if the blocks are successful, the chances are that you’ll end up unable to deliver the counter-attack.

You must engrave in your mind the fact that ushiro chidori ashi is something completely different froma simple step backwards.

Also, to cut down the time you need to perform the technique – so you don’t fall victim to a rapid attack– you have to think carefully about your posture before the technique begins.

The preparatory positioning for tsuki ten ichi is hiraki gamae, at neutral issoku ikken distance, in ichijigamae so as to be ready for a possible keri attack. To help do ushiro chidori ashi from this position, thedefender’s weight should be slightly forwards (zen kutsu dachi).

If you’re about to run a 100-metre race, you take up position so that as soon as the pistol fires you canstart running. Incorrect preparation for a waza is like waiting to hear the pistol before you even get ready.In Shorinji Kempo techniques, where every moment counts, a sloppy stance loses you a lot of time.

caption p57 The attacker waits in a somewhat zen kutsu stance (picture 1), then performs uwa uke withsorimi (picture 2), then ren uke with hikimi (picture 3). By moving with ushiro chidori ashi, the defendermoves his body off the line of attack (picture 4).

caption p58 The attack is a ren zuki: jun zuki then gyaku zuki. By using ushiro chidori ashi and settinghis upper body over the back leg, the defender can move the jun zuki and gyaku zuki targets out of danger.As soon as his weight is on the back leg, he can perform a counter-kick with the front foot.

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64: gyaku ten ichi

one point to watch is the hiki ashi

For gyaku ten ichi, the attacker’s and defender’s movements are as follows:‘Attacker: (1) fumi komi ashi with left foot, then a ni ren ko of jodan choku zuki with the right hand

followed by chudan gyaku zuki with the left.‘Defender: (1) ushiro chidori ashi to the left, a ren uke of uchi uke with the left hand followed by uchi

harai uke with the right, (2) keri komi with right leg, (3) kumo ashi to retreat; zanshin.’Since the attacker combines his jodan gyaku zuki and chudan jun zuki as a ni ren ko, naturally the

defender’s uchi uke and uchi harai uke form a ren uke.To make effective use of a ren uke, the ashi sabaki becomes especially important.One thing to watch for in particular is the hiki ashi. If you make a big step away you’ll spoil your

distance for the counter-kick, so the ideal is to make a small ushiro chidori ashi and swing the upper bodyaway, evading the first attack with tai sabaki.

If you retreat straight backwards, you won’t satisfactorily get your body off the attack line. So, justas for tsuki ten ichi, a half-hearted ushiro chidori ashi means you won’t be able to evade completely theincoming attack.

preparing for subsequent movements is important

So let’s check the movements for gyaku ten ichi, using photo sequence B.In frame 1 the defender is standing in ichiji gamae with zen kutsu dachi, inviting a tsuki attack.From frame 2 to frame 7, the attacker throws gyaku zuki. In response to this, the defender moves his

body away with ushiro chidori ashi, performing uchi uke while dodging the incoming punch. Because theattacker launches his ren ko focussing on where the defender was initially standing, effectively this ushirochidori ashi also serves to dodge the second, jun zuki attack.

To join defence and counter-attack smoothly, you have to include in each movement the preparation forthe next.

For an ushiro chidori ashi moving through to uchi uke, you start in zen kutsu dachi. Then if you wantto follow uchi uke immediately with uchi harai uke and keri kaeshi, you have to prepare by pulling backthe right hand.

it’s inviting the attack that makes a technique work

Above we mentioned that the attacker launches the attack based on where the defender was standing, butit seems that many people worry about what to do if the attack comes instead to where they have moved.There are also lots of people who, even though they move aside with ushiro chidori ashi, in fact still gethit.

What both these cases have in common is that the defender has failed to take on his proper role ininviting the attacks. Where the attacker anticipates the position to which the defender will move, andstrikes, the defender gets hit because he moves there. And even if the defender’s tai sabaki is correct, ifhe panics and moves too soon, he gives the attacker the opportunity to adjust the path of the attack – againincreasing the chances of being hit.

As long as the attacker is using techniques correctly, his movements are very compact. What this meansis that even against a fast defender it’s possible that he can adjust. As defender one must be fully awareof this, and rather than take up stance with the thought ‘I don’t want to get hit’, should make calm mentalpreparation with an attitude more like ‘Go on, try hitting me here’.

caption p64 The moment after performing the ushiro chidori ashi to move the body, and blocking withuchi uke, the uchi harai uke must be ready. And almost at the same time as the uchi harai uke is the jungeri.

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caption p66 The defender invites from a somewhat zen kutsu dachi stance. In response to the attacker’sgyaku zuki, jun zuki combination (ren ko), he moves his rear foot diagonally backwards to get his body outof the way of the attack. While moving the feet you must start uchi uke, while performing uchi uke startuchi harai uke, while performing uchi harai uke start the counter-kick.

72: tsuki ten nibending and straightening the arm is the key

The movements in tsuki ten ni are as follows:‘Attacker: fumikomi ashi with the left foot, then a ren ko of jodan choku zuki with the left hand, jodan

choku zuki with the right hand.‘Defender: (1) ushiro chidori ashi leading with the left foot, then a right-hand dan uke of uchi age

uke followed by uchi otoshi in an inwards direction; (2) keri age with the right leg; (3) taishin [retreat],zanshin.’

A special characteristic of tenno ken attacks is their combination of left and right punches thrown withno pause, in a single breath.

Since the attack is coming as a ren ko without any pause, it would be difficult for a defender to dealwith the attack’s speed if the uchi age and uchi otoshi are broken up as two counts.

To perform a smooth dan uke it’s no use trying to keep the arm bent and move it in a path that is almosthorizontal.

If you actually try to do this, you’ll soon see that it puts severe strain on the shoulder.Trying to use this kind of unnatural blocking movement not only makes it hard to deal with a rapid

attack, but could even lead to shoulder injury.Although byakuren ken’s tsubame gaeshi is the archetypal dan ko bo [rather than a dan uke], the path

followed in that case between the uchi uke and shuto giri is highly relevant here.In tsubame gaeshi, the arm used for the dan ko bo against jodan choku zuki is first bent to perform uchi

uke, then straightened alongside the attacker’s arm to perform the shuto giri.Bending and straightening is a very natural movement for the human arm, so it doesn’t put strain on the

shoulder or elsewhere. Because of this lack of strain, a fast defence/counter-attack combination is possible.Likewise, if for the dan uke in tsuki ten ni you don’t fix the elbow and try to move it horizontally, but

instead make good use of the arm’s flexion and extension, you can perform a rapid dan uke suited to theincoming attack.

perform defence and counter-attack using the whole body

Let’s confirm the movements involved in tsuki ten ni by looking at the photo sequences.The defender invites a jodan attack by calmly waiting in an ichiji gamae, slightly zen kutsu dachi stance.

The attacker correspondingly launches a ren zuki to jodan.Looking at frames 1 to 5 of sequence B you can see that the defender dodges the attacker’s left-hand

jodan choku zuki with hidari ushiro chidori ashi, then while making a fist with his right hand bends thearm and performs uchi age uke.

Then frames 6 to 8 see him open up his hand again and rapidly straighten the arm to change through touchi otoshi uke.

The reason for making a fist during uchi age uke is that this helps the action of the arm’s flexor muscles,while opening the hand for uchi otoshi uke helps the extensor muscles.

What I also want you to notice here is the fact that the uchi age uke is accompanied by the ushirochidori ashi.

Similarly, the uchi otoshi uke block isn’t just a matter of straightening the arm, but also involves a turnof the hips and a thrusting forward of the shoulder.

When dealing with an attack, it’s vital not to rely purely on arm movements, but to combine themappropriately with ashi sabaki and tai sabaki.

In this way all the body’s movements work together, letting you defend and counter-attack withoutdifficulty.

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caption p73 So as not to fall prey to the rapid ren geki, the uchi age uke and uchi otoshi uke cannot beperformed as movements ‘one, two’ but must be a single stroke. To make this possible it’s important forthe arm not to be tense, and for the shoulder and elbow joints to move smoothly.

caption p74 To maximise the performance of the arm’s flexor and extensor muscles while performing adan uke of uchi age uke and uchi otoshi uke, clench the fist for the former and open it out for the latter.

It’s vital that the uchi age uke and uchi otoshi uke are performed not as two separate actions, but as asingle connected movement.

80: tsuki ten sanwhen handling attacks, bear in mind what might come next

Tsuki ten san and keri ten san both start with the same ni ren attack of jodan choku tsuki, chudan chokutsuki. If you think about what kind of attack could follow this jo, chu combination, you’ll realise that it hasto be either jun zuki or gyaku geri.

Taken the other way round, what this means is that after performing a ren uke in response to a jo, chuni ren ko, you had better be in a posture from which you’re ready to deal with either a punch or a kick,whichever comes.

Among the elements that go to make up a hokei there are those that are visible in the form, and thosesuch as chosoku, happomoku and zanshin that have no obvious appearance. Having performed ren uke youmust be in a zanshin from which both uwa uke and juji uke are possible, and in order to sense whether thenext attack is jodan or chudan you must be using happomoku.

Additionally, in order to deal calmly with attacks, your mental state and your breathing must be ascontrolled as they were during your initial stance.

your body’s centre-line must not be tilted

If you look closely at the defender’s movements in the photo sequences, you’ll see that after performingthe ren uke his body’s axis is upright and stable. Both hands, having done their blocking, are in front of thebody ready for further use.

In general we can say that kenshi who at this point cannot freely respond to either a punch or a kick aretypically bent over, and their hands are fully committed either to dealing with a further expected punch orwith an expected kick.

Having your body stable and upright is exactly what you need so that in response to a punch you caneasily perform sorimi uke and an effective counter-attack. But from this position you can also performhikimi uke or hiza uke, and thus deal with a kick too.

caption p81 By accurately blocking the jun zuki, gyaku zuki ni ren ko using ushiro chidori ashi and renuke, defending against a third attack becomes easy.

caption p82 The way of avoiding the ni ren ko of jodan jun zuki, chudan gyaku zuki is the same as fortsuki ten ichi, using a ren uke of uwa uke, doji uke.

Having ascertained that a third punch is coming, perform uwa uke and dodge with a movement thatshifts your weight to the rear leg, finishing with jun geri.

88: keri ten sana defence and counter-attack for san ren ko

As was mentioned at the start of this section, the tenno ken family of techniques all have a ren geki thatbegins with a punch. Keri ten san involves blocking punches followed by a kick, then performing a kickcounter-attack.

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Obviously, a technique that requires you to block and counter the kick that arrives as the third attackwill only come together if you successfully parry the previous jun zuki and gyaku zuki.

Therefore keri ten san is not a technique you can put to use unless you have the basic capacity to blockpunches and follow up with a kick counter-attack.

It’s also important to think beyond the definition of this particular hokei, and remember that the attack’sfinal kick might be something like kinteki geri or mawashi geri rather than keri age.

Therefore as your level improves you must figure out and become practiced at the various combinationsof defence/counter-attack that you could perform after the ren uke – using shita juji uke, yoko juji uke, hizauke or maybe even san bo uke depending on the angle of the incoming kick.

Since in real life the choice of attack is entirely up to the attacker, all kenshi must seek to step up thelevel of their training, in line with their abilities, until even forceful attacks can be dealt with.

skillful, coordinated use of both hands

In the kyohan, Kaiso wrote ‘The special feature of ten san no kata lies in the coordinated use of ren ukeand dan uke by both hands.’

So let’s look at photo sequence A to see how the defender in keri ten san makes use of his hands.His right hand performs uwa uke in response to the initial jodan choku zuki attack, then uchi uke to deal

with the third attack (the kick).The left hand performs shita uke to deal with the second-place chudan choku zuki, then uchi barai uke

for the kick.So in essence there is a ren uke of uwa uke with the right hand and shita uke with the left, and two dan

uke combinations: uwa uke, uchi uke for the right hand and shita uke, uchi barai uke for the left. You haveto remember that it’s the skillful combination of these hand actions, along with ashi sabaki and tai sabaki,that together make the technique as a whole work.

Proficiency in any Shorinji Kempo technique requires being conscious of and becoming practiced in alarge number of individual elements. But it’s no good greedily trying to get to grips with all these elementsas quickly as possible. In one training session you should focus on a single element, building up yourstock of techniques slowly but surely. Though it may seem like a long way round, it’s the fastest route toimprovement.

One of the interesting things about Shorinji Kempo is that no matter how strong you are, if you don’tcarefully mesh together the elements that make up a given technique you won’t be able to do it. In fact Ithink there’s a lot of fun involved in the process of learning how to perform the technique to compensate ifyou happen not to be so strong.

caption p89 To allow confirmation of the defence movements involved in keri ten san we’ve snappedthem here as four separate pictures. However, since the attack comes as a rapid ren ko, the defender cannotperform them as four separate movements. Note that if there turns out to be a pause in the attack after thejun zuki, the defender can perform uwa uke geri; if there’s a pause after the ren zuki, the defender can dotsuki ten ichi.

caption p90 In keri ten san a correct balance of tai sabaki and te sabaki [use of the hands] is absolutelyvital. After the ren uke, both hands change through to juji uke to deal with the kick, but for this te sabaki itis important not to put power into the arms except for the focussed instant when the block makes contact.

Kakuritsu ken

These are forms involving attack and defence using the legs. They all include standing on one leg toperform hiza uke followed by keri kaeshi – an unusual counter-attack technique that is referred to as harokyaku geki [wave-like leg attack].

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96: kinteki geri hiza uke nami gaeshia technique with a definite go no sen response

As indicated by the nami gaeshi part of the name of kakuritsu ken techniques, their combination of defenceand counter-attack involves a continuous motion that is likened to the ebb and flow of waves.

Kinteki geri hiza uke nami gaeshi is a defence and counter-attack in response to kinteki geri.As you’ll appreciate from the photo sequences, the sequence of hiki ashi, hiza uke, kinteki geri is

performed in one motion without a pause.However, it’s quite common to see kenshi who pause at the hiza uke stage, or who have a tough time

because they meet the attacker’s kick with a direct blow on the shin.The result is a vicious circle in which kakuritsu ken techniques don’t get practiced enough, so people

never get good at them.Even if you happen to be unconcerned by a crashing style of block, it will break up the technique’s

flow. If that happens the attacker will have time to pull back his leg, so even if you launch the kinteki gericounter-attack it probably won’t land.

Conversely there are those who specifically avoid the direct shin blow, by simply launching machi gerito kinteki. In self-defence terms this is a dangerous gamble. Never mind what might happen against anarc-like attack such as mawashi geri; if you try to handle a fast, shortest-distance attack like kinteki gerijust by waiting for it, and with no attempt at defence, even if you manage to hit the target there’s a highchance that you’ll be hit at the same time.

You also have to bear in mind that this machi geri approach won’t help you to learn the specific lessonof this family of techniques, i.e., the go no sen response to kinteki geri using a wave-like leg movement.

caption p97 Having aimed his kick at kinteki, the attacker isn’t going to stand around in that positionfor ever. For kinteki geri hiza uke nami gaeshi to work, the defender must land the deciding counter-kickbefore the attacker has time to pull back his leg. To make a fast transition from hiza uke to kinteki geri, thedefender must keep his knee loose. Making an effort to move as quickly as possible in fact makes the legsstiff, and reduces speed. Relaxedly lift the knee, and counter as soon as the kick has been blocked.

caption p98 It’s important that having blocked kinteki geri with hiza uke you don’t stop, but in a move-ment like the turning of a wave immediately launch the kinteki geri counter-attack. Simply lifting the kneehas the desired effect of creating an obstacle in the path of the incoming attack, and simply straighteningthe same leg delivers the counter.

104: mawashi geri san bo uke nami gaeshidon’t get fixated on taka mawashi geri

In practising hokei, the roles of attacker and defender are handed out and, in clear contrast to the situationduring randori, the practice is done using a pre-arranged form of attack. For mawashi geri san bo uke namigaeshi, the attack stipulated by the kyohan is taka mawashi geri.

Being able to perform the technique as described in the kyohan is of course important. However, it’snot good to become fixated on surface-level features as if they were cast-iron rules.

Before discussing this, first let’s look to the kyohan for explanation of the kinds of situation in whichsan bo uke might be used:

‘San ren bo (san bo uke) is a special kind of block based on a stance originally known as san bo jin.When a kick comes toward the face, as seen in the picture, it’s hard to judge whether it’s a simple taka gerior is in fact a dan geri combination that attacks gedan and jodan simultaneously. Therefore a special formof block that combines yoko juji uke and hiza uke becomes necessary.’

As is clear from this explanation, the reason for using san bo uke as a defence is that the incomingattack is not necessarily coming to jodan.

What you mustn’t do is interpret the kyohan’s specification of taka mawashi geri narrowly as meaningthat no other attack is allowed, but must see it as one of a range of possible attacks.

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If it were absolutely certain that the attack could only be taka mawashi geri, there would be no point inprotecting kinteki. Any attempt to do so would be wasted effort.

Therefore, even within the practice of mawashi geri san bo uke nami gaeshi, it is important that fromtime to time the attacker mix in other attacks such as kinteki geri, chudan geri, and maybe dan geri too.

first understand kinteki geri hiza uke nami gaeshi and juji uke geri

Mawashi geri san bo uke nami gaeshi is, like kinteki geri hiza uke nami gaeshi, a member of the kakuritsuken technique family. This family’s special characteristic is the haro kyaku geki [wave-like leg attack]. Asindicated by the use of the word haro [waves], the transition from defence to counter-attack should be acontinuous motion like the ebb and flow of a wave.

Many people who have trouble with mawashi geri san bo uke nami gaeshi do so because they arebreaking up the defence and the counter-attack.

As stated in the kyohan explanation, san bo uke is like a combination of yoko juji uke and hiza uke.Using this fact in another way, what you have to do is use practice of juji uke geri and kinteki geri hiza

uke nami gaeshi to grasp the timing of juji uke, hiza uke and the keri kaeshi.Then when you have become able to perform these two techniques, try doing kinteki geri hiza uke nami

gaeshi with juji uke added on, and conversely try moving with the sense that you are blending hiza uke intojuji uke geri. You’ll find that mawashi geri san bo uke nami gaeshi becomes surprisingly easy.

Another point is that just because the attacker comes in with a high-level kick, that’s no reason for thecounter-attack to be similarly high.

The standard counter-attack in mawashi geri san bo uke nami gaeshi is chudan geri. On the otherhand, the easiest and most effective counter-attack is probably kinteki geri – and the higher the attacker’sincoming kick, the easier it is to kick his kinteki. So as an exercise in practical self-defence application,how about mixing some kinteki geri counter-attacks into your practice?

As an example of practical application, photo sequence C shows a kinteki counter-attack.

caption p104 A defender standing in ichiji gamae gives the appearance of being prepared for a kick fromstraight ahead. However, what you must do is prepare mentally and physically to deal with any attack,whether it comes to kinteki, chudan or jodan.

caption p106 Mawashi geri san bo uke nami gaeshi is a hokei performed against a taka mawashi geriattack, but this doesn’t mean that whenever a high attack comes in you should use san bo uke. Rather, it’sa blocking method that is effective when the defender cannot easily judge whether the attack is coming tokinteki, or is a dan geri, etc.

Sango kenThis group is made up of hokei involving chudan attacks and defences. The attacks are either kicks orpunches, and the responses involve blocking with a hand and countering with a kick. To save space in thephoto sequences these techniques are shown with single attack/counter-attack combinations, but advancedstudents should perform ren han ko.

112: juji uke gerithe time needed for juji uke geri

Goho techniques are made up of extremely fast movements.Have a look at photo sequence A. Between frames 1 and 10 the attacker closes distance and kicks, and

the defender blocks and counter-kicks.This sequence was shot at a rate of 14 frames per second, so between each frame is approximately

0.07 seconds – and the entire duration of this defence and counter-attack is a measly 0.63 seconds. In thistime the defender does a hiki ashi to protect kinteki, performs juji uke, and makes his counter-kick.

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The kyohan has the following explanation of the defender’s movements: ‘From migi ichiji gamae [oursequence shows hidari ichiji gamae] slightly pull back the right foot to protect kinteki, and while doing sosimultaneously perform uchi harai uke with the left hand and uchi oshi uke with the right to make juji uke,then immediately use the right leg for the deciding counter-kick.’

From this explanation it is clear that one is not meant to finish hiki ashi before doing the block, or tofinish the block before doing the kick.

As seen in the photo sequence, the juji uke happens during the hiki ashi, and at the moment of blocking,the counter-kick must already be on its way. Essentially all the movements are connected together. Thiskind of connected set of movements is referred to as ikki dosa.

However, this ikki dosa expression is often misunderstood. Some people think it means you just do thecounter-attack. Others think the movements happen all at once, with no discrimination between them. Ifyou can grasp the proper meaning, of connecting a number of movements together without a break, you’llsoon see that ikki dosa occurs not just in goho but in juho too. In fact, Shorinji Kempo’s techniques alldepend on such continuous sequences of movement.

So in practicing hokei you must set up exactly the stipulated conditions of distance, relative arrangement[tai/hiraki], way of standing and kamae, then train so that under these conditions you become used tomaking a correct, accurate response in one continuous action.

captions p113 The defender’s mental preparation when in kamae is essentially the same as that formawashi geri sambo uke nami gaeshi.

Juji uke is a strong block made up of simultaneous uchi harai uke and uchi uke.

caption p114 Juji uke isn’t just a matter of making a cross with the arms and putting them in the way ofa kick. One hand performs uchi harai uke, the other uchi uke. At the moment of blocking, the front legmust be pulled in so that your posture is ready for a counter-kick – otherwise the counter will be late.

120: shita uke jun geripay attention to the attacker’s stance too

The arrangement for this technique is tai gamae, with the attacker in ichiji gamae and the defender in hassogamae.

For someone to practice the defence for shita uke jun geri, it may seem that the attacker could just aswell start from chudan gamae as from ichiji gamae. But given that the appropriate goho technique to usedepends on the relative arrangement [tai/hiraki] and the respective stances of attacker and defender, it doesmatter how the attacker begins.

The reason for attacking from ichiji gamae is that if you unthinkingly stay in chudan gamae whileclosing distance to make a punch, the defender might not have to go to the trouble of performing shita ukejun geri but could do something simpler, such as machi geri.

So ichiji gamae is the stance you use to be prepared against jun geri.Furthermore, the reason why the attacker will launch chudan jun zuki is precisely because he and the

defender are in tai gamae, and the defender, by adopting hasso gamae, is protecting his jodan targets butinviting a chudan attack. If the defender were in chudan gamae, with his elbows close to his body, anykind of chudan punch would be difficult; chudan jun zuki would seem a pretty long shot. The defender alsobiasses the invitation towards jun zuki by turning himself slightly more side-on than the hasso gamae usedfor shita uke geri, thus ensuring that his suigetsu is at an awkward angle for a gyaku zuki attack.

mental preparedness is crucial

Taking up a proper stance involves not just adopting the right posture, but also truly understanding whythis posture has been adopted. Let’s look at what the kyohan has to say about stance:

‘There are many people who think stance is just about body position. But however good the posture, ifit is not accompanied by mental preparedness then it’s like the pose of a doll – worthless. Even if it appears

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that your body position leaves no gaps or chinks, an unfocussed mind will ruin it; it’s no exaggeration tosay that the most important element of stance is the preparedness of the mind.

‘Then again, it’s also a mistake to take great pains over the mental preparedness but think lightly of theposture. If your posture isn’t right, you won’t be able to respond to circumstances moment by moment.’

This is how Kaiso spoke of the importance of both posture and mind. And the mental preparednesswe’re talking about here is not just a matter of determination or strong spirit. One way to think of it isthat you should know the kyo and jitsu aspects of your physical posture, and use this to prepare in yourhead the various counter-attack strategies for a number of predicted attacks. On the other hand, you couldthink of the physical posture as the particular body position that will make it possible to put your mentalpreparations into effect. So without preparedness, any posture has a mass of unguarded openings, while aposture that is sloppy makes you unable to respond in appropriate ways. The kyohan also has this to say:

‘Kamae concerns the battle-formation aspect of enabling effective attacks and defences in ShorinjiKempo. In other words, it must be the physical embodiment of the energy – concealed within – of unifiedmind, spirit and strength.’

Not just for shita uke jun geri, but in general, the success or failure of a technique is largely determinedbefore it even begins, by these subtle tactics of stance and positioning.

caption p120 The defender takes up hasso gamae with zen kutsu dachi.

caption p121 Moving from zen kutsu dachi to ko kutsu dachi, perform shita uke and a counter-kick.

caption p122 Having taken up hidari tai gamae, when the attacker performs jun zuki the defender blockswith the right hand, thus moving to the attacker’s ura. When practicing this hokei don’t just think of it as apunch being blocked by shita uke, but consider carefully the relationship of attacker and defender once theblock has been made.

128: gyaku tenshin gerishifting your body weight is the key

For gyaku tenshin geri the attacker and defender start from hiraki gamae, and the attacker steps in withsashikae ashi to launch jun zuki. The defender does gyaku tenshin, keri kaeshi.

Watching gyaku tenshin geri, we often see a failure to coordinate the movements of the upper and lowerbody – the feet get caught up, or the counter-attack after the tenshin is not delivered smoothly. Unlike shitauke jun geri, for gyaku tenshin geri the body doesn’t move in a straight line: from stance, the front foot ispulled back while the standing rear leg acts as the axis for a circular body movement; after this turn, whatwas the standing leg is used for the keri kaeshi.

This foot movement is gyaku tensoku. If it isn’t executed well, the technique won’t work.It seems that the cause of getting the feet tangled, or for being late with the counter-kick, is often a

problem in distributing body weight between the two legs.In the case of starting from hidari mae hasso gamae, your right leg will be the axis for the turn. When

preparing for the attack you must already be in ko kutsu dachi, your weight on your right leg.Taking the extreme counter-example, if you try to defend with gyaku tensoku from zen kutsu dachi,

there will be a small pause in shifting to ko kutsu dachi so that your weight is on the gyaku tensoku pivotfoot. This is fine if you have the spare time needed for this movement, but if the attack is fast this kindof breathing space usually won’t be available. Even a small delay increases the pressure on the defender,making you more likely to stumble, or to fail to coordinate upper- and lower-body movement.

Furthermore, you cannot perform a smooth kick with what was your standing leg unless your weighthas been fully transferred to the leg that you drew back.

Note that although gyaku tenshin turns the body, this doesn’t mean that the foot being pulled back hasto follow a circular path.

A good, snappy gyaku ten shin comes about by rapidly pulling back the front foot, promptly shiftingthe weight, and thrusting the hip forward for the keri kaeshi.

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By stepping in with sashikae ashi, the attacker can get a good angle for hitting the defender’s chudan.Shita uke jun geri suits the case in which the defender invites the attack from a somewhat zen kutsu dachistance. When inviting from ko kutsu dachi, the effective way to spoil the attacker’s angle and take up agood stance for a counter-attack is to use gyaku tenshin.

shifting the weight and dodging are connected

The defensive movements in gyaku tenshin geri are a skillful combination of a tenshin uke based on gyakutensoku, and a shita uke.

However, a lot of kenshi perform this technique relying too heavily on the shita uke. But if the gyakutenshin is weak and you’re relying on the block, there’s no way you can have proper room to manoeuvrefor the counter-attack. Shifting the weight onto the leg that was pulled back is also a vital ingredient ingetting the body off the line of attack.

When performing the turn, the upper body is supported by the standing leg. At the end of the turn, thefull weight of the upper body gets transferred to the leg that was pulled back. So to start with the upperbody is over one leg, and at the end it’s over the other. Thus the gyaku tenshin is what lets the body evadethe attack, and this combined with shita uke is what makes an effective gyaku tenshin geri.

caption p128 The defender takes up hasso gamae in ko kutsu dachi.

caption p129 The defender needn’t set out to spin his body around. By pulling the front foot to behindthe rear foot and shifting his weight, the body naturally turns for the gyaku tenshin movement.

caption p130 The main characteristic of the tai sabaki known as gyaku tenshin is evasion by moving thebody completely off the line of attack. Rather than deliberately forcing his body to turn, the defender pullshis front foot to behind the rear one and quickly transfers his weight to it. This allows a simple, unforcedshifting of the body.

136: han tenshin gerisimilarities and differences relative to gyaku tenshin

Han tenshin geri is a technique in which attacker and defender start in hiraki gamae, and in response to afumi komi ashi, gyaku geri attack the defender performs han tenshin and a counter-kick.

Both han tenshin and gyaku tenshin are effective forms of ashi sabaki against big step-in-and-kickattacks.

The two movements suit different ways of standing. Gyaku tenshin is a circular movement about one’srear standing foot; han tenshin is a rotation with the front foot as axis. Gyaku tenshin is the easier one toperform smoothly from ko kutsu dachi.

make the technique flow smoothly

Let’s take a close look at han tenshin geri using the photo sequences.In frame 1 of series A, the defender prepares for the attack in a migi mae stance with slight zen kutsu

dachi.In frames 2 to 8, the attacker performs fumi komi ashi then gyaku geri, and the defender meets this by

pulling his left foot back to a position behind the right side of his right foot. This is a tenshin [body turn]involving han tensoku.

Let’s look more closely.In frames 7 and 8 the feet are in the same places, but in frame 7 the heel of the left foot is in air, while

in frame 8 it’s the right heel that is off the ground.So we could say that 7 is the instant when the han tenshin finishes, while 8 is where the keri kaeshi

starts. Effectively the end of one is simultaneous with the start of the other.

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Looking at the attacker during this time, in frame 7 he hasn’t yet straightened his knee. But even thoughhe is set on delivering the kick, the defender has already moved away – and it’s too late for the attackerto change the kick’s path. Then in frame 8, even though the attacker’s kick isn’t yet fully extended thedefender’s counter-kick has already begun.

Looking at frames 9 to 12 we see that the defender’s kick lands in advance of the attacker pulling hisfoot back.

So the attacker’s state when the counter-kick arrives is such that from chudan to gedan is all in kyo, andhe’s also unstably poised on one leg.

This shows how the precise flow of attack and counter-attack can’t be mastered just by copying thesuperficial form of a technique.

A technique only starts working given a proper understanding of how the tai sabaki, block, and counter-attack are all inter-connected, and on a foundation of smooth movements of the feet and of one’s weight.

use a composite approach

Han tenshin geri includes uchi otoshi uke as part of the defence against the gyaku geri. But rather thanconsider the block the main element of the defence, you should see it only as supplementary protection forchudan.

If you half-heartedly do the han tenshin and rely on the uchi otoshi uke to protect you, then unless youmanage to stop the kick firmly with your arm, it will get through. So you’re putting your arm in directcompetition with the attacker’s leg, and the best you can really expect is a painful arm. However, no matterhow swiftly an attacker kicks, the time needed to perform han tenshin should be a lot less.

So don’t just rely on the block, but put together the foot movement, body movement, block, and counter-attack; that way, you’ll be able to deal with even a powerful attack.

caption p136 At the end of the day, the uchi otoshi uke in han tenshin geri is just supplementary; yourfocus should be on dodging the attack with the han tenshin form of tai sabaki.

caption p138 Like gyaku tenshin, han tenshin is a form of tai sabaki for getting your body off the lineof an incoming attack. An important point shared by han tenshin and gyaku tenshin is that at the instantwhen the tenshin ends, your shifting of body weight must also stop – leaving you ready to perform the kickcounter-attack.

144: yoko tenshin gerigyaku geri has both power and speed

Yoko tenshin geri is a technique for dealing with a gyaku geri attack from tai gamae.When doing kicking practice with body protectors, the combination sashi komi ashi, gyaku geri is

surely the most common kind of kick.Indeed, gyaku geri is a classic form of attack, bearing down on the defender with power and speed.To avoid such an attack, simply backing away is no good.If you do just back away, you won’t be able to reach to deliver a counter-attack, and if the attack is deep

there’s a risk that it might get to you anyway.Looking over the sango ken techniques, there is not a single one in which the defender simply backs

away. For shita uke jun geri you move diagonally backwards with ushiro chidori ashi, while both han tenshin geri and gyaku ten shin geri make use of turning movements that take the body off the line of attack.

circumstances to the defender’s advantage

The defender’s tai sabaki and counter-kick have to be more compact than the attacker’s step in and attack.Let’s analyse yoko tenshin geri in detail. However fast the attack, the fact is that the striking weapon

(the sole of the attacker’s left foot) starts about two metres away from the target (the defender’s suigetsu).

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Because the attack is aimed at the defender’s seichusen [centre line], the distance that he must movesideways to evade it is half his body width – maybe around 20cm. This is just one tenth of the distance tobe travelled by the attack, and it’s a single-step movement that anyone can do.

Moreover, when the attack happens the defender is standing firmly on both feet, so making a dodgingmovement is easy.

By contrast, when the defender puts in his keri kaeshi, the attacker is standing on one leg and thereforecannot dodge.

the importance of attack/defence timing

Even if the defender’s dodge is only one-tenth the distance of the attack, starting the defence movementsat the wrong time will scupper the chance of a straightforward defence and counter-attack.

Looking at photo sequence A, we see that in frames 1 to 5, when the attacker is stepping in and up tothe point of launching the gyaku geri, the defender waits calmly in a zen kutsu stance. The start of the yokotenshin movement is frame 6, when the attacker has begun his gyaku geri. At this point the attack has beenlaunched towards a decided target, and it would be difficult to change its path.

By contrast, if the defender started moving as early as frame 3 or 4, the attacker would be able to adjustthe path of the kick. Even with a yoko tenshin, the chance of being caught by the kick would be greatlyincreased.

The attacker’s kick has to move ten times as far as the defender’s dodge. If the defender doesn’t rush, hecan coolly draw in the attack so that after this dodge the attacker is in a position where he cannot performtai sabaki against the counter-attack.

caption p144 The techniques of sango ken must be done with clear awareness of kamae and relativearrangement [tai/hiraki]. Both han tenshin geri and yoko tenshin geri involve the same gyaku geri attack,but when waiting in zen kutsu dachi in tai gamae, the effective response to gyaku geri is yoko tenshin geri.

caption p146 When facing each other in tai gamae, a gyaku geri attack is handled with yoko tenshingeri. When the attacker closes distance and kicks, this also brings him into range for a counter-kick.By not retreating but performing a sideways tenshin movement, the defender can take up distance for aneffective counter-attack.

152: harai uke geriblock with a line, not a point

At study sessions, students often say (1) against an attack like furi geri, surely harai uke geri won’t work –and (2) when I do harai uke my arm hurts; how can I avoid this?

With respect to (1), you have to think about what’s needed for a successful attack.It’s true that the path of a furi geri differs from that of a sashi komi mawashi geri, so rigidly performing

harai uke geri against it won’t work. But that doesn’t mean you can’t defend yourself from furi geri.Attack and defence of kinteki is a strongly emphasised element of Shorinji Kempo. Against someone

who is well practiced in kinteki geri as a defence tactic, furi geri is effectively removed as an attack option.Sashi komi mawashi geri is the kind of thing an attacker has to do in order to close distance without

leaving himself open to a kinteki geri counter-attack.Question (2) is answered by thinking about how to make a successful defence.Watching the technique of those people who ask about hurting their arms, most are seen to block at

right angles to the incoming kick. This means that a single point on the kicking leg is hitting a single pointon the blocking arm.

One important element of harai uke is hitting the nerve point san in ko. But concentrating too muchon this is likely to lead to a crashing, head-on block. However much you toughen up your arms, this isn’tsomething they can cope with.

If you look closely at photo sequence B, you’ll see that the block’s path follows that of the kicking leg.The attack in these photographs is quite shallow, so the block doesn’t make much contact. But even if the

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attack were deep, using a block that follows the line of the leg and cuts deeply into san in ko means thatthe arm doesn’t just hit with one point.

Turning the contact area from a point into a line reduces the impact shock, and hence the risk of injury.An additional result is that you hit san in ko.

understand how a technique hangs together

As its name suggests, harai uke geri involves defending against a kick using harai uke or uchi harai uke,then a keri counter-attack.

There are many hokei whose names simply combine those of their main defence and attack techniques:harai uke geri, juji uke geri, uchi uke geri, ryusui geri and so on.

Watching the scene of people practicing goho, we often see that if their harai uke or juji uke goeswrong, they only think of trying to correct the movements of their hands.

A goho technique is made up of elements that include (1) kamae, (2) foot placement, (3) foot move-ment, (4) tai sabaki [body movement], (5) defence techniques, (6) switching between attack and defence,(7) awareness of alternatives, chosoku, happomoku, zanshin and so on.

However, elements like these can’t be learnt by blitzing them one at a time. They only work whenskillfully woven together.

Among the Shorinji Kempo defence techniques, not a single one involves complicated arm movements.Ultimately the movements come down to extending, retracting, or swinging the arm.

Therefore when a block isn’t working well, rather than getting obsessed with just the arm movement,you must think of how stance, foot placement and foot movement are all connected, and work on improvingthe combination as a whole.

caption p153 Using uchi harai uke while moving with mae kagi ashi, the defender can easily blockagainst san in ko.

caption p154 Rather than thinking of the harai uke as being used to block the incoming kick, think of itas protecting your own chudan. By using ashi sabaki and tai sabaki to dodge the attack, you can stop thekick with little or no damage to your own arm.

Chio ken

Like tenno ken, these hokei are based on ren ko bo. Whereas tenno ken techniques deal with attacks thatbegin with a punch, chio ken addresses attacks starting with a kick.

160: jun geri chi ichi

different stances call for different techniques

Apart from chio ken techniques, kinteki geri as an attack is addressed in kinteki geri hiza uke nami gaeshi,in kakuritsu ken. How is that technique different from this one?

Anyone can see that for kinteki geri hiza uke nami gaeshi the attack is just a single kinteki geri, whereasfor jun geri chi ichi there is the additional hebi zuki. But the more fundamental difference lies in thedefender’s stance.

In kinteki geri hiza uke nami gaeshi, the defender is in ko kutsu dachi. In jun geri chi ichi, the defender’sweight is evenly on both feet.

When you’re in ko kutsu dachi, it’s easy to respond to kinteki geri by immediately doing hiki ashi andhiza uke.

But if your weight is evenly distributed, or if you’re in zen kutsu dachi, performing hiki ashi requires asplit-second shift of the weight. To cover your vulnerability during that split second, you use ken uke.

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ken uke is possible specifically when the attack is kinteki geri

One of the staff members at hombu tells a story of having broken a finger in randori during student days,by unthinkingly using ken uke against a kick.

I asked what kind of kick it was, and how the block was done.The answer was that the pair were in tai gamae, and when the opponent launched a jun geri to chudan

the defender immediately aimed a ken uke at the approaching foot.In all Shorinji Kempo’s hokei, ken uke is never used against anything other than kinteki geri.Kinteki geri is a style of kick designed to strike the groin area with the instep; it’s not intended for

higher targets such as suigetsu. Ken uke is a block that can be used against kinteki geri, and likewise is notsuited to other kicks.

If a kick comes towards your suigetsu, using ken uke just because your relative positioning happens tobe the same as for a kinteki geri attack is a reckless move. It’s not surprising if you break your fingers.

In addition, even when applied against kinteki geri, to avoid hurting yourself the ken uke must beperformed with a tightly clenched fist and an active wrist [i.e., not bent].

So ken uke is a block that, if done badly, brings the risk of injury. Nonetheless we use it, becausestopping a kinteki geri using its intended target area is simply not a viable option.

The attacker launches the kinteki geri while performing hebi zuki as a feint to jodan. The target of thekick is based on where the defender was originally standing.

This is a crucial point. A defender always gets attacks to come to where he has taken up stance.By moving his body backwards, the defender shifts his target area away from its position when the

kinteki geri attack was invited.And then he performs ken uke at the position originally occupied by that target. That way, the block

naturally meets the kick.It’s absolutely not the case that the block is launched to target the kick.The kick comes flying at you in tenths of a second. Even if you tried, you couldn’t hope to hit the

intended nerve point.Reading the attacker’s intentions, and using ken uke to cover up the kyo in your posture, is what allows

it to be effective.

caption p160 The defender faces the attacker in zen kutsu ichiji gamae. Protecting himself against thehebi zuki feint using uwa uke, he protects himself against the kinteki geri using his knee and ken uke. Kenuke should not be thought of as being aimed at the kicking foot, but as being put out to protect the kintekiregion.

caption p162 It’s very difficult to do a good ken uke by trying to aim it. But because the attacker’s kick iscoming to kinteki, putting ken uke at the targeted location will catch it. Making such a block is like layinga trap for an animal to run into.

168: gyaku geri chi ichifeinting to jodan increases the effectiveness of the kick

In chio ken’s chi ichi no kata are jun geri chi ichi and gyaku geri chi ichi.Both of these hokei involve a feint using hebi zuki or something similar, along with kinteki geri. The

difference between them lies in whether the kinteki geri is a jun geri or gyaku geri.When you consider the position of the kyusho [nerve point] in kinteki, an attack from straight ahead is

clearly the most effective.Whether this attack can be made most effectively using jun geri or gyaku geri is largely determined by

the relative arrangement [tai/hiraki] and separation of attacker and defender.From a given distance, because gyaku geri uses as its standing leg the one that is already closer to the

defender, the kick reaches further than would jun geri.What this means when the opponents are standing at issoku ikken distance is that gyaku geri requires a

smaller closing-distance movement than does jun geri.

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On the other hand, because gyaku geri comes from a position further away from the defender, it is alarger movement that’s easier for the defender to read than a jun geri.

In the case of jun geri chi ichi the attacker and defender are in tai gamae, from which jun geri providesthe easier chance of an effective angle of attack against kinteki.

However, because the defender is bound to have set up stance at a safe distance from the attacker, it’snecessary to distract him with hebi zuki while closing distance for the jun geri.

Gyaku geri chi ichi is from hiraki gamae. In hiraki gamae it’s gyaku geri that offers the better chanceof a good attack angle against kinteki.

In order to make effective use of the large gyaku geri movement, it should be launched after using hebizuki to take the defender’s attention away from the gedan region.

So the hebi zuki used in techniques like jun geri chi ichi or gyaku geri chi ichi isn’t just part of somefixed kata, but serves to increase the effectiveness of the kick attack.

training must include safety measures

It can be said that the fiercer the attack used in practicing some hokei, the higher the level of training beingachieved.

However, because the hokei in chio ken involve potentially dangerous attacks to the eyes and to kinteki,there is a tendency for attackers to hold back.

Therefore depending on the level of the practice it may be necessary for the defender to use a groin cupor mask as a safety measure.

In terms of the intensity of its effect, and the fact that no-one can withstand being hit there, you couldthink of kinteki as the number-one kyusho against a man.

When Shorinji Kempo is pursued as an approach to self defence, practicing defence and counter-attacksfor this ‘number-one kyusho’ is clearly of enormous importance. So insofar as practicing chio ken’s chiichi no kata involves training both partners in the attack and defence of kinteki, you could regard these asbeing definitive techniques for Shorinji Kempo.

captions p169 Although chio ken is based around ren ko bo sequences that begin with a kick, jun gerichi ichi and gyaku geri chi ichi make an exception by actually starting with hebi zuki. In the same way thattenno ken has the characteristic that its attack combinations are thrown without a pause, the hebi zuki andkinteki geri in chio ken techniques are not two separate movements. The attacker must have the sense thatthe hebi zuki is for drawing the attacker’s attention to jodan for a fleeting instant, during which the kintekigeri is also put in.

Make sure that the wrist is active when performing ken uke.

caption p170 Neither gyaku geri chi ichi nor jun geri chi ichi involves a kinteki geri attack launched outof the blue; they both use hebi zuki to first distract attention away from the gedan area. If the hebi zuki isn’tperformed convincingly, it won’t work as a feint; the attacker must make this first attack one that would hitthe defender if not blocked.

176: gyaku geri chi sana skillful combination of dodge and block

Let’s confirm the movements of gyaku geri chi san from the kyohan:‘Attacker: (1) sashi komi ashi, right foot kinteki geri; (2) put the foot down, right-hand shuto giri to

keichu; (3) continue with left-hand chudan gyaku zuki.‘Defender: (1) pulling back the left foot, perform ken uke with the left hand; (2) soto oshi uke with right

hand; (3) left-hand shita uke, then while moving to ichiji gamae perform keri kaeshi with right foot.’Although this explanation is divided up into steps 1, 2, 3, it goes without saying that in practice the

gyaku geri, shuto giri, chudan zuki form a continuous ren ko.Photo sequence A shows the defender inviting kinteki geri from a zen kutsu stance, then protecting

kinteki by performing ken uke while shifting to ko kutsu dachi.

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According to the instructions given above, at step 1 the defender should perform ken uke while pullingback his left foot. Part of the purpose of this hiki ashi is to move the kinteki target backwards, away fromthe attack. You can see in the photo sequence that the defender doesn’t actually pull his left foot back.

However, what the defender is doing here instead of hiki ashi is to dodge kinteki away from the incom-ing kick by using the movement from zen kutsu dachi to ko kutsu dachi.

Using his momentum, the attacker follows kinteki geri with shuto giri and chudan zuki. This shuto girihas the same angle as in tsubame gaeshi, and constitutes a tremendously dangerous attack.

Therefore, immediately after the ken uke, the defender uses ushiro chidori ashi as a tai sabaki thatmoves him out of the range and the path of the incoming attacks, and while blocking with soto oshi uke andshita uke performs the keri kaeshi counter-attack. Thus every attack is avoided by an effective combinationof tai sabaki and blocking.

predict attacks based on what would be the obvious movements

Whereas tenno ken addresses ren ko bo starting with a punch, chio ken deals with sequences that start witha kick.

One resource for judging whether an attack will start with a punch or a kick is the distance betweenattacker and defender.

Since arms are shorter than legs, making a punch attack involves moving closer than would be necessaryfor a kick. Thus at a given distance one’s first concern should be to watch out for kicks rather than punches.

Let’s consider the conditions needed for making a jun geri or gyaku geri attack from the issoku ikken,hiraki gamae preparatory stance used in gyaku geri chi san. We define issoku ikken as the distance fromwhich a gyaku geri without a keri komi movement would just fail to reach its target.

If the attacker brings forward his back foot [yose ashi], the front foot that would be the standing leg forgyaku geri is no nearer the defender, so jun geri is the more useful kick to do.

If he instead steps his front foot forwards [fumikomi ashi], the most direct form of kick possible isgyaku geri – whereas jun geri would require him first to move the back leg forward and put all his weighton it. When you think about it, this is all natural and obvious.

Within chio ken we find jun/gyaku pairs: jun geri chi ichi and gyaku geri chi ichi, and jun geri chi sanand gyaku geri chi san.

Practicing any one of these in isolation becomes just a matter of unthinkingly repeating the same move-ments. But practicing the paired hokei such that the attacker might equally launch either the jun or gyakuversion, the defender has no choice but to use his head, using the attacker’s early movements as the cluefor predicting and dealing with whichever attack is the natural follow-on.

caption p176 Verification of the attacker’s movements. From hiraki gamae he performs a san ren kostarting with kinteki geri, then placing the kicking foot down in front and performing shuto giri and chudangyaku zuki.

caption p178 The attacker launches a san ren ko made up of kinteki geri, shuto giri, chudan gyaku zuki.Even having successfully protected his kinteki with ken uke, if the defender then just stands there, theremaining ren ko attacks will hit him full-on. So he can either follow the ken uke with a keri kaeshi like ingyaku geri chi ichi, or, as seen here, break distance and prepare for those attacks.

188: harai uke chi nidon’t just go through the motions!

The kyohan’s explanation of harai uke chi ni is as follows:‘(1) Attacker: stepping forward, mawashi geri with left foot. Defender: while opening the left foot out

to the side, uchi harai uke with right arm; left hand in chudan gamae position.‘(2) Attacker: while stepping in with fumikomi ashi, right-hand jodan gyaku zuki. Defender: while

twisting the body, perform uchi uke with the left hand, then immediately use the right hand for a decidingatemi to chudan.’

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Reading these instructions and blithely following them to perform harai uke chi ni, there is a tendencyto fall into practice that simply goes through the motions: when mawashi geri arrives you protect yourselfwith uchi harai uke; then block the gyaku zuki with uchi uke; then make an atemi to chudan.

Hokei outside chio ken for dealing with mawashi geri include harai uke geri, gedan gaeshi, chudangaeshi, juji uke geri, mawashi geri san bo uke nami gaeshi, and harai uke dan zuki.

So with all these techniques available against the first attack in harai uke chi ni, why go to the specialeffort of preparing for an additional gyaku zuki?

To answer this, we have to look at which of these other hokei are related to harai uke chi ni.

the relationship between harai uke chi ni, gedan gaeshi and harai uke dan zuki

In goho, the techniques available for use in confronting an opponent are constrained by distance, relativearrangement [tai/hiraki], foot placement, kamae, and so on.

If you look at the preparatory stance in the photographs, you’ll see that it is hiraki gamae. At this stagewe can therefore rule out of the choice list the responses juji uke geri and mawashi geri san bo uke namigaeshi.

Then look at the instant when the defender has blocked mawashi geri. Because his rear foot is out tothe side, we have to rule out harai uke geri and chudan gaeshi.

The only options remaining at this point are gedan gaeshi and harai uke dan zuki.The attacker, also bearing in mind these various possibilities, launches gyaku zuki. The 1955 edition of

the kyohan makes this clear with the following guidance for the attacker:‘Replacing the left foot on the ground, and while maintaining your left hand as a guard against the

defender’s right leg, jodan gyaku zuki with the right hand.’

attack and defence grounded in knowledge of the possible counter-attacks

We see that the attacker doesn’t just go through the motions of throwing gyaku zuki, but takes care to guardagainst a counter-kick by the defender. And the defender, if intending to counter-attack with a punch, mustremember to protect his own face while doing so.

Goho hokei are decided on your opponent’s momentary openings of kyo.Therefore you have to train to launch counter-attacks that take advantage of the kyo openings appearing

in your opponent’s posture as a result of the attacks he makes.In practicing any hokei, it isn’t enough simply to remember its overall form.As your level improves, you shouldn’t just be mechanically stringing movements together. You should

understand the relationship to other hokei, and explore aspects such as strategies for attack and defence,and the fight over who has the initiative (sen), so that your hokei don’t become cast into fixed shapes.

caption p184 The position after blocking the attacker’s mawashi geri would also allow the gedan gaeshiresponse.

caption p185 Harai uke chi ni becomes effective when the attacker launches gyaku zuki in the face of thedefender’s possible counter-attack.

caption p186 Thinking of what could come after the sashi komi mawashi geri, the distance is too greatfor jun zuki to be effective, and gyaku geri can’t happen because the right leg is acting as the supportingleg. So you can tell that the second attack must be gyaku zuki. During practice of hokei it is important tounderstand and become familiar with the kyo/jitsu aspects of posture.

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